Kabul: Gunman shot Intercontinental Hotel diners – eyewitness

Media captionGuests tried to escape by using bed sheets to climb down from balconies

An eyewitness has told the BBC of the terrifying moment gunmen burst into Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel restaurant on Saturday.

The man, who is not being named for security reasons, said he was spared after saying he was an Afghan. “Where are the foreigners?” they shouted.

At least six civilians were killed in the 12-hour siege, officials said.

The interior minister said the recent decision to transfer security to a private company had been a mistake.

Some 160 people were rescued after Afghan troops fought throughout the night to regain control of the building.

Afghan news agency Tolo says the death toll could be higher than the official figure, quoting a reporter who said they had seen dozens of bodies inside the hotel.

Three attackers were also killed in the siege, officials said.

Afghan airline Kam Air told local journalist Bilal Sarwary it had 42 members of staff in the hotel, some of whom were foreign nationals. Eighteen are still missing with five feared dead.

The Taliban, which targeted the hotel in 2011, says it was behind the latest attack. A spokesman said in a statement quoted by AFP that the group had “killed tens of foreign invaders and their puppets”.

Gunmen ‘ate before shooting’

The gunmen burst into the six-floor hotel at around 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT) on Saturday evening, as guests were enjoying dinner.

The eyewitness told the BBC he was having dinner with his son when the gunmen began firing into the air with small arms.

They killed a woman – believed to be a foreigner – and turned the gun on the eyewitness himself.

He shouted “I’m Afghan”. One of the gunmen shouted that they didn’t kill Afghans and demanded to know “Where are the foreigners?” The men then ran out of the room to look for them.

“They were wearing very stylish clothes,” he said. “They came to me and asked for food. I served them the food and they thanked me and took their seats. Then they took out their weapons and started shooting the people.”

“There were dozens of dead bodies lying around me.”

Several guests were pictured using bed sheets to try to climb down from a top-floor balcony.